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Social Impact Lab awards $30,000 to Boston nonprofits addressing the COVID-19 pandemic

Working in partnership with Human Services and University Scholars, Social Impact Lab (SIL) programs have awarded over $50,000 to Boston nonprofits addressing COVID-19’s devastating impact in Boston and an NGO that empowers women and girls in Mumbai.

Over 60 Northeastern students and alumni spent last week researching and funding Boston nonprofits supporting families hit especially hard by the pandemic. Working in collaboration with the Human Services Program and the University Scholars Program, SIL developed a virtual version of its successful Social Impact-athon model, an intensive, collaborative experience that challenges students to make grants to nonprofit organizations through the lenses of systems thinking and social justice.

Students participating in the Human Services & SIL’s Social Impact-athon awarded $10,000 to Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD). Students participating in the University Scholar’s parallel event made their $10,000 grant to Community Servings. Anonymous donors offered to support two additional organizations whose work especially impressed the students, thus Victory Programs and Greater Boston Food Bank will receive $1,500 each.

Scattered around the world, Social Impact-athon participants worked in teams to identify Boston nonprofits working with vulnerable families at increased risk of financial, housing, and food insecurity as a result of the pandemic, which is taking a disproportionate toll on low-income communities and communities of color. Using SIL’s RISE Framework to apply the lenses of systems thinking and social justice to their decision making, they prioritized organizations with deep connections to their communities and effective strategies for serving families facing complex challenges.

Students participating in Northeastern Students4Giving, another SIL experiential philanthropy education program, awarded $10,000 to South End Community Health Center (SECHC) as the culmination of a year-long grant-making effort involving 40 students. These funds will support SECHC as the transition mental health services for Boston Public School adolescents to a telehealth model.

Northeastern’s Young Global Leaders program funded  Social Impact-athon Mumbai as part of the university’s Global Leadership Summit 2020 in February. Participants awarded $20,000 to Vacha, a non-governmental organization that supports women and girls in Mumbai’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

Thank you and congratulations to all these students and alumni for their hard work, the donors who make these programs possible, including the Learning by Giving Foundation and Northeastern donors, and to these fantastic organizations whose efforts to support vulnerable communities in Boston and Mumbai is so critical during this difficult time.

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